Spring Fling: A Library of Congress Pop-Up Exhibit

The Library of Congress celebrates spring and the National Cherry Blossom Festival with its latest pop-up exhibit, LOC Spring Fling. This subject guide can help you experience the season through treasured items from the national collections. Experience the living history of the National Cherry Blossom Festival through rare drawings and photographs. Learn about the weather, seasons, gardens, and botany from books and maps. Explore the imaginations of leading writers through literature and poetry. Discover springtime cultural traditions from around the world. Feel the beat of the season with music and films that depict these spirited months, including recordings of “Appalachian Spring,” the Library's Pulitzer-winning music and ballet commission.

The display will be on view Friday, April 6; Saturday, April 7; Friday, April 13; and Saturday, April 14, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. in the Thomas Jefferson Building, 10 First Street S.E., Washington, D.C. Tickets are available for this free exhibition but not required. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis at this event ticketing site. The first 100 guests at “LOC Spring Fling” will receive a giveaway of the Library of Congress Asian and Prints and Photographs Division.

LOC Spring Fling pop-up exhbit guide is organized like the physical display offered April 2018, with additional collection resources to expand the coverage.

Weather & Seasons: Maps from the collection document weather, the changing seasons, and climate to tell various stories. Photographs feature weather events and natural disasters accompanying spring.

Spring in the Garden: Historical Manuals and almanacs to lay out beds and plants by the phases of the moon as well as the Biodiversity Heritage Library selections can inspire new gardening ideas.

National Cherry Blossom Festival: Photographs and works of art on paper document the history of the blossom viewing and this Capitol tradition. 

International Traditions: Collections from four corners of the globe reveal common themes in the traditions and cultures of diverse peoples.

Poems of Spring: Historical as well as contemporary poetry collections extol the season in words, illustration, and bindings.

Movies & Music: Animation, nature, people, and sports memorialized in film celebrate the season. Public performances and private experiences in communal celebrations acknowledge our ties to the natural world and the cycle of the seasons.

Additonal Resources: Additional Spring Fling Library of Congress resources not on display.

Exhibit Artwork: Download the original bookmark for the exhibit.

Bibliography: Download the complete bibliography for the Spring Fling Pop-Up Exhibit.

The Library’s spring fever can be tracked on Twitter at@librarycongress and #SpringFling.

Introduction
Weather & Seasons
Spring in the Garden
National Cherry Blossom Festival
International Traditions
Poems of Spring
Movies & Music
Additional Resources
Exhibit Artwork
Bibliography